Lola Raises $3 Million Seed Funding to Dominate GCC Celebrations
Bahrain-founded cake customisation platform Lola has closed a $3 million seed round, signalling strong investor appetite for tech-driven food experiences across the Gulf. The round was led by Vision Ventures, with participation from Aljazira Capital, Seedra Ventures, Plus VC, and other investors.
Lola raises $3 million seed funding as part of its broader push to redefine how people order celebration cakes across the GCC. Founded in 2023 by serial entrepreneur Othman Janahi, the platform lets users visually design and customise their cakes digitally eliminating the back-and-forth frustration of traditional bakery orders. What you imagine is precisely what you receive.
The startup has grown rapidly since launching in Bahrain, extending its footprint into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, driven by surging regional demand for personalised celebration products.
Scaling With Cloud Bakeries and Central Production
Lola fulfilled orders through a network of local bakeries. The fresh funding changes that equation. The company plans to build a central production facility in Dammam, complemented by a distributed network of cloud bakeries in key cities a model designed to deliver consistency and quality at scale.
Vision Ventures CEO Kais Al Essa highlighted the scale of opportunity, noting a GCC cake market valued at $9.5 billion in 2025, projected to exceed $12 billion by 2030.
This round follows a $1.3 million pre-seed raised in February 2025. Founder Othman Janahi says the vision extends beyond cakes. Lola is building toward a full celebration platform covering gifting, decoration, and more. For the startup ecosystem, Lola’s trajectory is a compelling case of product-market fit meeting regional scale ambition.
